Indian startups like Zomato, Housing.com, One 97 Communication and others offer fringe benefits

Silicon Valley , home to some of the most storied startups , has been traditionally doling out ever-more generous and creative perks to employees. Twitter recently bought 19 th century log cabins to serve as dining areas at its San Francisco headquarter while Google's New York office brings in beauticians to shape eyebrows. Taking a cuefrom theseuber-coolworkplaces ,desi startups are also upping fringe benefits. From offering the services of in-house taichiinstructors and marathon trainers who take care of your fitness needs and gourmetchefswhosatiate your foodcravings , working at an Indian startup has never been this rewarding. And while one is kept well-fed , well-groomed and physically fit during work hours , there are late-night poker sessions and disco nights in office to ensure that folks can party as hard as they work.

These fledgling ventures admit the perks are not as extravagant as they are fun , and a good way to hook talent in a competitive market starved for talent. Pranay Chulet, founder & CEO of digital classifieds player Quikr , says the Indian market is different and so are the perks. "People seem to prefer samosas over salmon , andcricketover foosballsothat's what we focus on. We want to celebrate our quirks ," he says.

While Indian startups are still a long way from reaching the lavish scale of the Bay area ventures , the attempt here is to give employees a chance to de-stress during the long hours at work.

So , a typical work day in the life of a 25-year- old at Housing.com , a map-based realty portal , might end with an impromptu pizza party or at the officeturned-nightclub. "The idea is to transform the office into the hippest disc in Mumbai ," says Advitiya Sharma , cofounder of the two-year-old startup. "For us it's not about the occasional perk but the way we work every day. We always have fun in whatever we do even as the bigger corporates give out airline miles and free hotel stays ," he says. In Mobi, the Bangalore-based mobile ad network , doesn't have card-readers to scrupulously measure entry /exit times. Employees bring children and pets to office and a cool $800 is given to everyone annually to "develop" themselves any way they likebe it through guitar or music classes. All of this inside an office which sports children's nursery colours on its walls. To add to the casual look, there are plenty of bean bags and hammocks and no cabins and cubicles.

While on-the-house meals and flexi timings are commonplace even at Indian startups , online restaurant discovery guide Zomato has hired in-house chefs who can rig up anything from Pan-Asian fare to Thai cuisine. Deepinder Goyal , founder & CEO of Zomato , says food is a big part of keeping people happy at work , so it is an expense they can live with. But even for well-funded ventures such as ecommerce major Snapdeal , the constraint while providing these perks is not to increase costs too much. Kunal Bahl , co-founder & CEO of Snapdeal , where some team members are entitled to the services of a chauffeur , says the perk is aimed at helping employees avoid the driving stress in Delhi. "We're a retail business and don't have the margins of Google and Facebook to justify things like gourmet chefs, and free iPhones and iPads as a joining bonus. Here the most basic desires and needs have to be addressed first ," the 31-year-old says. Vijay Shekhar Sharma , founder of Noida-based One 97 Communication , a mobile internet company , says he is also the resident DJ of hisorganization where every evening there is music on all floors of the office building. "People who come for job interviews and see this invariably go away impressed. We create a spa-like fragrance in the office with different natural , scented herbs and oils and have a 24-hour food counter ," says Sharma.

Helping employees keep fit has been on top of the list for many companies. Raja Shanmugam , co-founder , Happiest Minds , which describes itself as a next generation IT service provider , offers the services of tai chi and yoga instructors for allitsemployees. "Weliveby the name of our company ," he says. Bangalore- based Capillary Technologies' co-founder Aneesh Reddy , says they have a runners' programme , and the idea is to help staffers run marathons.